The Great Wheel of the Year has turned towards autumn and winter – seasonally the time to travel inward; reflection and introspection, rest and renewal and if you’re a smart cookie like me, scheduled dates for having tea with the Dark Goddess.
I realize that you might find the thought of teatime with the Dark Goddess a grim and crazy suggestion, however, I assure you my friend, it is not. You either willingly journey to the Dark Goddess or you find yourself face to face with her in the most inopportune times. I personally visit the Underworld to spend time with the Dark Goddess every year mid September to Samhain (October 31st) that’s when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest.
Most envision the Dark Goddess as a nasty old hag, the wicked witch, the evil stepmother, the ice queen, etc. – however she is also the face of deep healing, compassion and rebirth. To deny this powerful feminine archetype her light aspects is a disservice to her and to you.
In the Underworld you explore deep, hidden parts of yourself. You journey down to seek answers to your struggles, the strength you require to endure crisis, the courage to do what it takes to get unstuck… and during that process you face your authentic truth and heal your soul.
Many of the women I mentor privately have found themselves in the Underworld without having any idea how they ended up there… their lives simply imploded without warning as their reality shattered into a million tiny pieces – it’s not pretty or fun. I’m blessed to have the honor to hold the lantern, light the path and empower women to navigate their way out of shadowy, inner realm known as the Underworld. I too in the past unwillingly visited the Dark Goddess.
Each of my previous journeys to the Dark Goddess was unique, however, they all began with a niggling feeling or awareness that something wasn’t right in my life. And because taking a closer look at the niggle was either too frightening or inconvenient for me to “deal” with at the time, so I ignored it – swept it under the rug, shoved my truth down, put on a smile and lived in denial… until it became too much. I would eventually collapse under stress, become ill or have an emotional meltdown of epic proportions. In those catastrophic moments I would find myself asking the same painful question: HOW DID I END UP HERE? And then I would realize that I had unknowingly traveled to the Underworld and was face to face with the Dark Goddess.
I remember thinking to myself after my head stopped spinning, “She got me again… nipped me right in the behind, just as I was skipping along hand and hand with my denial.”
My magical and metaphysical studies helped me to understand that it’s much better to willingly visit the Dark Goddess than to avoid her. The journey is a paradox; both empowering and painful all at the same time. The Dark Goddess strips you of all the masks and facades and shows you who you are in your truth. She’s the deepest part of your soul and she knows your truth.
She IS your truth.
The Dark Goddess goes by many names; some include Ereshkigal, Persephone, Hecate, Kali, Morgana, Black Isis, The Morrigan, and Lilith.
The autumn is the time of year that I lead my Sisterhood on a 4-week spiritual journey into the Underworld to work with our personal shadow – the mystical journey is called Shadow Work. Shadow Work is the process of exploring the parts of you that you’re secretly ashamed of, hide or suppress because you believe they are norm violating or you’ve been taught to feel shame over them. We all have our shadow aspects and exploring them willingly is essential to living an empowered Goddess Life.
Your shadow is part of who you are in your entirety. Learning to work, understand and develop love your shadow self serves the greater good of your life experience. Whatever you suppress, deny and stuff down will eventually emerge at a velocity that is impossible to handle and at the most inconvenient of times – trust me I know this first hand.
Some Shadow Work Questions to Journal On:
What truths about me do I hide from others?
What am I tolerating in my life that needs to go (but I continue to avoid addressing it)?
Why am I tolerating those things?
What parts of me am I ashamed of?
Why am I ashamed of them?
What things have I done in the past that I’m scared for people to know?
Why am I afraid for others to know those things?
What are the characteristics of my Shadow Self? (Stingy, Promiscuous, Snobby, Jealous, Violent, etc.)
As we enter into the magickal season of Shadow Work, I wish you a swift and fruitful journey to the Underworld and the most delicious and empowering teatime with the Dark Goddess. And so it is.
Excellent questions! Truth telling can seem like a scary proposition but as you point out, denial will lead to facing our shadows when we least expect it. Every time I visit with the Dark Goddess, I feel a lightness of being. Thanks for a great article.